Arkivet – Nummervisning

Fra Socialist Review nr. 330

Evocative and intimate, Yasser Alwan's portraits of working people on the streets of Egypt provide a magnificent antidote to the racist and negative images of Arabs that we are bombarded with in the West.

Editorial

330

3

nov 08

The rulig class is coming to terms with a new era of crisis and the certainty of a coming recession.

Politicians and economists across the world are dusting off their copies of the works of economist John Maynard Keynes. Suddenly the free market needs rescuing and state intervention appears to be the only solution to the crash.

"We need a tougher immigration policy and we need to stop seeing it as a dilemma. It's not. It's easy. I'm going to do my best to help the British back to work." These are the words of Labour immigration minister Phil Woolas.

When education secretary Ed Balls announced the abolition of Key Stage 3 SATs examinations for 14 year olds this month virtually no one came to their defence.
One teacher quoted in the Times Educational Supplement| described "tears of happiness", while a headteacher told his English teachers to "let them enjoy Romeo and Juliet" rather than focusing obsessively on the set scenes.

Debt by numbers

330

5

nov 08

£1.2 trillion – Total savings in Britain
£1.4 trillion – Total personal debt in Britain
£59,350 – Average household debt in Britain, including mortgages
30% – Increase in debt since September 2007

In October the government increased its guarantee on savings from £35,000 to £50,000. This means that if you have savings of up to this amount, and your bank goes bust, the government will reimburse you.

The £5.5 billion bailout of Lloyds TSB came as Gordon Brown promised to crack down on bankers' bonuses. But the bank's chief executive, Eric Daniels, thinks otherwise, telling employees that they actually faced "very, very few restrictions".

The circumstances surrounding the economy are obvious (Socialist Review, October 2008). The political elite and the opulent bourgeoisie are coming up with a myriad of excuses. However, these kinds of actions by the elites of society are driven by the idea that the intelligent, well educated, natural leaders of society alone know what is best for society.

The era of globalisation meant that national states would have no role in modern capitalism. This was a myth accepted by many, left and right. Mark L Thomas argues this was never the case and looks at the impact of recent state interventions to rescue the free market.

Thousands of bus workers across London have been part of a defiant fight against the privatised bus companies.
The roots of the militancy can be traced back to November 2006 when Metroline drivers took on the employers and won after two days of strike action. It proved that drivers didn't need to be afraid of standing up to their employers. It was like a burst of fresh air that was long overdue.

Economists, both left and right, are championing Keynes as the answer to the crisis. Since his theories do little to challenge the fundamental grip of capitalism, isn't it time for those on the left to recognise his flaws?

How is it that history makes an unexpected leap forward?
Take the sudden onset of the economic crisis. We were told this could never happen again, but banks are failing, the financial system is in turmoil and a recession is opening up beneath our feet.